The New Liberal Party, aware that they were going to lose seats in the next election, voted in favour of a proposal by party leader Elanora Dunbar that the party should seek to merge with the Conservative Party, who were seen as natural allies to the party.

All states, legislatures and local bodies governed by the Conservative Party or NLP were transferred to the Liberal-Conservative Party.

Symbolism

The scorpion was chosen as the party's mascot because party founders felt that the animal, one of Radiatia's two national animals, best represented the party's main value of individualism.

According to the party's website, "the scorpion represents the individual... seemingly small and weak on their own but with a powerful and deadly sting. That is what the LCP believes: That individuals may seem small, but we each possess a powerful sting."

Blue is the official colour of the party, a symbol carried over from the Conservative Party.

Structure and Composition

The Liberal-Conservative National Committee (LCNC) is responsible for developing and promoting the Liberal-Conservative Party manifesto in each election, including local and state as well as federal elections. The LCNC is also responsible for fundraising and co-ordinating the election strategy.

The Chairman is chosen by the party's state committees. The LCNC supervises and raises funds for the Liberal-Conservative Party National Convention, working closely with the party's Presidential candidate, who will usually advise on creation of the party platform.

The LCNC will often adapt various stances in accordance with the wishes of a Presidential candidate, who is presumed to have the support of the party through their victory in the party primaries. For example, a candidate from the party's Classical Liberal faction might ask the LCNC to provide a manifesto focussing on economic issues and pro-market policies, while a candidate from the Social Conservative faction might ask the LCNC to provide a manifesto and campaign focussing on social issues.

The LCNC oversees other bodies such as the Liberal-Conservative Premiers Association, which oversees state legislative and Premierial races, the Liberal-Conservative Senators Association which oversees Senate races and the Liberal-Conservative Parliamentary Committee which oversees Federal Assembly races.

For the most part the party advocates individual responsibility, low taxes, freemarket economics and a limited or sometimes even non-existent welfare state. The party opposes Social democracy and believes that Liberal democracy, defined as a society of great personal and economic freedoms, is a more preferable alternative.

Economic policies

The Liberal-Conservative Party emphasises the role of free markets and the private sector in the creation of wealth, prosperity and economic growth. As such they tend to favour laissez-faire economics, fiscal conservatism and promote personal responsibility over welfare dependency.

Liberal-Conservatives support supply-side economics and most support flat taxation, believing that progressive taxation removes incentives to create jobs and wealth. They advocate reduced income taxation, reduced public expenditure and a much small federal government, opposing government intervention in the economy.

Many Liberal-Conservatives are opposed to the existence of the Federal Health Service and the Federal Ministry of Education, believing that the federal government ought not intervene in healthcare and education, or else favouring the privatisation of education and healthcare.

Social Policies

Many Liberal-Conservatives support the state's right to choose when it comes to abortions, rather than the woman's right. Excluding a very small minority, the Liberal-Conservatives support gay rights and gay marriage, though they are more hesitant in their support of gender equality and the rights of racial minorities, advocating "Majority Rights over Minority Rights". They also tend to support stricter laws regarding sexuality, such as raising the age of consent.

Many Liberal-Conservatives are also pro-gun ownership and support the use of capital punishment.

Most Liberal-Conservatives deny the existence of climate change, and do not consider environmental issues to be a priority.

Foreign Policy and National Defence

The Liberal-Conservative Party advocates a strong national defence force, believing defence is the federal government's most important priority. Despite this they tend to oppose interventionist foreign policy stances.

The Liberal-Conservatives advocate neutrality in foreign affairs, believing that Radiatia should attempt to act as a middle ground between the Humanitarian League and nations such as Tuthina and Ainotula who are considered "rogue nations" by the HL bloc.

The Liberal-Conservatives favour Realpolitik in diplomacy, and support free trade and open markets, while opposing protectionism.

The party is divided over the issue of immigration. Many Liberal-Conservatives are open to the possibility of globalisation, while a large number of Liberal-Conservatives hold nationalist stances and oppose globalisation.

Factions

Social Conservatives

The Social Conservatives are one of the smaller factions of the Liberal-Conservative Party, tending to exist in rural areas in central and western states.

Because religion has had very little influence or cultural presence in Radiatia, social conservatives are less concerned with issues such as LGBT rights and sexual morality.

Social Conservatives in Radiatia tend to advocate prohibition, censorship of violence on television and in movies, and often take anti-abortion stances.

Some Social Conservatives oppose prostitution and pornography, or oppose the rights of transgendered people. Social Conservatives tend to either question or oppose universal suffrage, and sometimes oppose women's rights.

Classical Liberals

Classical liberals make up approximately a third of the Liberal-Conservative voter base.

They also tend to favour non-interventionist foreign policy stances, and some favour reduced military spending.

While most of the faction support the existence of a limited welfare state and public education system, most advocate monetarist economics, and believe that controlling inflation is more important than controlling unemployment. They also advocate the reduction or abolishment of trade barriers and privatisation of state owned enterprises.

Fiscal Conservatives

The Fiscal Conservative faction are possibly the largest faction in the party, with their roots being traced back to "The League of Citizens for Individual Rights and Fiscal Conservatism", an organisation which existed in secret during the Communist-era and was the precursor to the Conservative Party.

Fiscal Conservatives are strongly opposed to deficit spending and advocate lower taxes, and lower government expenditure. Fiscal Conservatives are not opposed to the welfare state, Federal Ministry of Education or Federal Health Service but advocate spending cuts in these areas in order to balance the budget.

Libertarians

Libertarians form a small but significant part of the LCP voter base, with most advocating either minarchism or anarcho-capitalism. They have common ground with the Classical Liberal faction, but tend to hold more extreme viewpoints, believing that the Federal Government should exist only to prevent fraud, violent crime and burglary and concentrate mainly on national defence.

Libertarians are opposed to corporate welfare and also opposed to measures which would curtail their personal liberties, including surveillance and conscription. Most Libertarians also oppose the existence of the Reserve Bank of the Radiatian Federation, believing that the Tsenyen should be backed by the gold standard.

Libertarians are opposed to the welfare state, public healthcare or education, and most are opposed to the existence of income taxation.

Neoconservatives

Neoconservatives tend to differ on social and economic policy, although most value individualism and free market economics to some extent. Neoconservatives take a more hardline nationalist stance, and are opposed to immigration and globalisation while many neoconservatives are opposed to free trade.

The Neoconservatives emphasise the role of Radiatia's defence forces and believe in a strong interventionist foreign policy, wherein Radiatia should act as "the Sheriff of Noctur".

Most Neoconservatives advocate practices such as wire-tapping and surveillance in order to keep crime rates low and prevent terrorism. Some Neoconservatives believe that certain extremist political groups such as the Radiatian Destiny Party and the Communist Party should be forcibly disbanded, and that religious people should also be prohibited from running for government. Small minorities also believe that the military should have a greater degree of influence over the governance of the country.

Neoconversatives also support "business imperialism", and supporting Radiatian corporations as they gain a foothold in the international market, in order to promote Radiatian values abroad. Neoconservatives are not opposed to deficit spending, provided that the money is used to support the military-industrial complex.

Voter Base

Recent polls indicate that 30% of Radiatians identify as Liberal-Conservatives, 31% as Social Democrats and 39% as independent or supporting a third party.

Business community

The LCP is usually seen as being the more pro-business party, and tends to garner more support from corporate executives, managers, small business owners and shareholders of companies. Liberal-Conservatives tend to be supported by self-employed people.

Location

The Liberal-Conservative Party tends to be more popular in central and northern states, as well as in the rural parts of the western states. States likely to vote for the LCP are called "Blue States".

The LCP tends to do well in the cities of Das Engel, Amentra and Exegrad, Alayenia, where there are large numbers of high-income people, as well as a general tendency towards anti-socialism. However, the two cities tend to respond better to liberal LCP candidates rather than conservative or neoconservative ones.

The northern states, sometimes known as the "politically apathetic north" traditionally voted for Communist Party candidates until LET 36, out of habit since the fall of communism. However, the Conservative Party under Soden Larssen launched the "northern strategy" in which they promised states rights and limited federal government intervention in northern states, which appealed to voters in the northern states who primarily prefer limited or localised government to large-scale dealings with the federal government.

The Liberal-Conservative Party appear to have retained the Conservative Party's dominance of the north.

Rural voters

In central, western and northern states, rural voters tend to support the LCP, having previously been notorious for leaning towards socialist and communist candidates prior to LET 36. In the western states, farmers appear to favour the LCP's promises of low taxes and low regulations.

However the opposite is true in southern and eastern states, where rural voters tend to favour the SDU. It is believed that this is due to the LCP opposing subsidies to farmers and protectionist measures, which tend to affect farmers in the southern and eastern states more acutely than in the more fertile western states.

The LCP usually attempts to portray itself as being balanced between rural and urban interests, promoting policies such as states rights and low regulations in order to gain the rural vote.

Education

LCP voters are only 40% likely to have a university or postgraduate degree, compared to 54% of SDU voters.

Males without university educations tilt heavily in favour of the LCP with a 54% of non-educated males likely to vote LCP. The opposite is true among women, however - women without a degree are more likely to vote SDU, while women with degrees tend to favour the LCP.

Teachers and university professors are considered highly unlikely to vote LCP.

Income

The LCP does well among upper-middle class voters who earn more than 50,000 Tsenyens per year. The LCP often has the support of the rich, especially of the oligarchs who appeared following the fall of communism.

As a result of their wealthier voter base, the LCP tends to receive more money in campaign donations, which is a point of contention in Radiatian politics.